The Winding Road
by Alexis96
Summary: What if Harry Potter wasn't born. What if instead it was Lexine Potter. And what if the night that her parents died she was taken to her relatives but they didn't keep her. Instead the Cullen's took her in. Would her life be like her counterparts or will she walk down a different road and make her own path. Fem!Harry
1. New Beginning

The Winding Road

**Everything that you recognize doesn't belong to me but J.K. Rowling. **

Chapter One

The last rays of sunlight were just disappearing under the horizon as a cloaked figure scurried across the cobblestone street and up a stone path. Inside the home a witch and wizard felt their wards go down and panic filled their faces. The dark haired male creeped to the window and upon seeing the unwelcomed guest his face paled. Turning to his wife he pulled out his wand holding it out firmly in front of him.

Seriousness and protectiveness replaced his panic as his eyes laid upon his family. "He's here Lily," his voice came out soft but held a sense of calm that only an Auror could pull off. "Take Lexine and get somewhere safe. I'll hold him off."

The young woman hesitated not wanting to leave her beloved alone with the man outside. "Lily you need to go!" From the front of the house the sound of the door being blown from its hinges was deafening. With one final look at the man she loved Lily grabbed her daughter and ran up the stairs completely forgetting about her wand that lied on the wooden table just mere inches from her husband.

The house shook with each spell that was cast until finally all went silent with one final thud. A body hit the floor staring unseeingly up the staircase. The cloaked figure stepped carelessly over the fallen man and silently crept up the stairs toward the nursery.

Lily heard the silence and knew that James had fallen and it was left to her to save their little girl. With no wand she was left with pushing furniture in front of the door bitterly knowing that it wouldn't stop the monster from entering the nursery. Knowing she had only seconds left Lily placed Lexine in her crib and stared down at the beautiful baby girl who stared back up in confusion at her mother.

"Baby," she whispered her throat thick with sadness for what was to come. "Mommy loves you, Lexi. Mommy loves you so much." Her words were thick with emotion cracking at the end. Behind her she heard the click of the lock and a bright light filled the room as the furniture was pushed back away from the door. Shakily Lily pushed herself up from her crouched position and turned to face her fate.

Voldemort stood menacingly in the doorway staring on at the scene in mild amusement. Lily took a step back toward the crib spreading her arms out in a feeble attempt to block the crib protectively.

His lips rose in a mocking smile at her worthless attempt of protection that she could offer. "Not Lexine," her voice broke as she pleaded. "Not Lexi. Please, not Lexi."

"Stand aside, you silly girl," Voldemort sneered. "Stand aside, now."

"Not Lexine," she said once more this time more boldly. "Take me instead, just please, not Lexi." Voldemort took another step into the room towering over her as he stared into her defiant eyes. "Please, not Lexi…have mercy," she pleaded again. "Have mercy."

Voldemort's lips turned from the mocking smile to a sneer at her begging. With a sudden swiftness he brought up his hand that held his wand and brought it down wordlessly, a blinding green light enveloped the room causing Lexine to shut her eyes. With a thud Lily Potter's lifeless body hit the floor leaving her daughter to the mercy of the dark lord.

A sneer crossed his lips as he stepped forward toward the crib and peered inside. Emerald green eyes stared up into his own ruby ones. The little girl didn't utter a sound as he once more raised his wand for the last time and uttered the unforgivable words 'Avada Kedavra!' Once more green light blindly filled the room but Voldemort was the one that felt the pain and knew that something had gone horribly wrong.

The green light had bounced off of the girl and back at the caster causing the dark lord to know no more. The house was left a shell of itself as a baby's cry filled the night's air.

Sadness filled the air as they looked down at the sleeping baby. "Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get Sirius's bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall- Dumbledore, sir." With a roar of the bikes engine Hagrid disappeared into the night's air.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. With a sniff and one last look at the sleeping babe McGonagall turned on her heel and transformed into a cat slinking off into the night. Dumbledore stepped to the corner of the street and raised his putter outer allowing the lights to turn back on.

He glanced back at number four privet drive and could just make out the outline of the basket that held little Lexine Potter. "Good luck, Lexine," he murmured quietly. Then turning on his heel and a flick of his robes he disappeared into thin air.

A breeze ruffled the trees leaves and with it took the letter that Dumbledore had written to explain to Lexine Potter's relatives. Later that morning when the sun was just lighting Privet Drive Mrs. Dursley opened the door and let out a scream at the sight that met her. She knew exactly who the child belonged to. There was no mistaking those eyes or hair.

She knew that if the child was on her doorstep that it meant her sister finally got what was coming to her and she couldn't find the will to be sad over the fact. Petunia always knew her sister would get in a sticky situation that she wouldn't be able to get out of.

Mr. Dursley upon hearing his wives screams rushed out of the house and came to a stop in front of the bundle. His face twisted up in disgust as soon as he realized who the child was. One of them no doubt. The baby's own screams filled the air as soon as she was rudely awoken. Grudgingly Petunia picked up the basket and brought her into the house before the neighbors could see anything.

"I won't have one of them in my house Petunia!" Vernon roared as soon as he was inside the safety of the house. Petunia set the basket aside and turned to face her husband.

"What would you have me do?" she questioned. "Turn her away? Give her to an orphanage or hospital?" As she said it the idea was much more pleasing than keeping the girl around.

"That's exactly what we're going to do." An hour later Petunia strode into the hospital carrying the bundle in her arms with a frown on her face. She walked up to the front desk with her head held high.

"Can I help you ma'am?" the receptionist asked questioningly.

"Yes, I woke this morning to find this child on my doorstep," she began with a fake sadness in her voice. "The poor thing was left with only a note that told her name and that her parents had died." The receptionist frowned with genuine sadness for the little girl. "I can't take care of the little thing and my husband and I thought best that we brought her here."

"What's the child's name?" Petunia frowned slightly as she tried to remember the girls name. Her sister had sent her a card with the child's name on it back when the girl was first born and then again at Christmas.

"Lexine," she said once the name came to her. "Lexine Potter." The young woman stepped around the desk and as soon as she was in reaching distance Petunia dumped the child into her arms. "Well that'll be it I suppose. Good day." Then without another word she left the poor girl alone with the baby.

"What am I supposed to do with you," she said with a frown as the baby looked up at her and giggled. Just before she was going to take Lexine into the back to find a doctor she spotted Dr. Cullen walking toward the front door. "Oh Doctor Cullen."

The young doctor stopped and turned toward the voice. His eyes found the young receptionist and noticed right away the little girl in her arms.

"Miss. Gretchen how are you and who is this?" He smiled at the cooing child. Miss Gretchen balanced the child on her hip before speaking.

"A woman brought her in just moments ago and dumped her into my arms. She said the girl was left on her doorstep with just her name." Carlisle frowned and grabbed the child when she reached out for him.

"Who would leave a beauty like you," he asked as he allowed her to play with his fingers. "What's the child's name? Perhaps we can find her parents."

"Lexine Potter, sir," she began. "But doctor the woman told me that in the note it said the girls' parents had died." Sadness settled in Carlisle's golden eyes.

"Then we'll just have to call child services." The thought saddened him even more at the thought that the child would be put in the states care but her being so young was a blessing. She shouldn't have any trouble getting adopted into a loving home.

Miss Gretchen nodded and went off to go make the call. Carlisle glanced down at the child and looked into emerald green ones. They melted him and he bounced her on his hip as he cooed at her bringing a smile to the girl. A shrill ring filled the room and he stopped what he was doing to answer it.

"Don't give the girl away!" Alice's bell like voice yelled in his ear. "You're adopting her." Carlisle frowned at the thought of having a human in a house full of vampires. Especially a defenseless human at that.

"Alice I don't think that would be wise." Lexine reached for the phone and tried to snatch the weird device from his hands but he moved it away causing her to start to cry. "Please child don't cry." Immediately Lexi's cries stopped as she stared curiously up at the man who had such a pretty voice.

"She'll be fine Carlisle," Alice said excitedly. "I can't see exactly why at the moment but we won't try to eat her. We won't want to." He frowned as he thought of all the precautions they would have to take.

"Jasper would have to feed more. All of us would."

"Oh please daddy," Alice begged. "It'll be fine besides I've already seen you giving in along with everyone else." Carlisle glanced back down at the child as she smiled up at him and giggled. Alice then hung up before he could try to talk her out of it. Sighing he looked over at Miss. Gretchen as she entered the room once more.

"I'm sorry Miss. Gretchen but change of plans. I need to get a hold of child services myself." At the Cullen household Alice just broke the news to everyone else. She had run upstairs as soon as she was done telling the news. Apparently there was a lot of decorating to do before the new addition arrived. Esme stepped into the kitchen nervously trying to figure out what she should make for the little one.

Emmett was grinning widely at the thought of a new little sister to play with. Edward and Jasper were both mad and afraid of having the human around. Jasper was afraid he would try to eat her and was mad at the thought that his family would test his self-control like this. Edward couldn't believe they would risk their secret this way and their family.

Rosalie was mad that they would even think about bringing a human into the family. It wasn't just dangerous but just plain stupid. Or at least she thought that way until she realized that she would finally have the child she had always wanted. One that would grow throughout the years and not be stuck like they were. Excitement flooded inside her at the thought.

As soon as they heard a car driving up the driveway everyone met up in the living room. Both Jasper and Edward stood in the back of the group for very different reasons. They heard a car door open and close then another. The sound of a child's gurgling reached their ears and Rosalie stood up straighter hoping to catch site of the girl.

As soon as Carlisle entered the room all eyes were not on him but who he carried. Lexine met the stares of the family and gazed curiously at all of the beautiful people. "Oh Carlisle she's beautiful," Esme said with a smile on her face as she glanced at the child adoringly.

They all took in the little girls black hair, emerald green eyes that shined brightly, and the strange lightning scar on her forehead. How she got that they were curious. "This is Lexine Potter everyone."


	2. The Cullen's

The Winding Road

**This story will be AUish. I'll have a lot of things that were in the books but I'll also be adding in my own stuff. The years may be different by my added content but I want to make Lexine different than Harry and though they'll share some adventures she'll also have different adventures of her own. **

Chapter Two

Lexine glanced around the room at the strangers. She didn't recognize one person and suddenly wished for her parents. "Ma?" she cried. "Da?" The Cullen's exchanged a glance. No one wanted to tell the little girl that her parents were dead and wouldn't be coming back. Esme stepped forward and reached out for the girl but Lexine pulled back hiding her head in the crook of Carlisle's neck.

She trusted the beautiful man but these other people she didn't trust so much. "You poor dear," Esme said frowning slightly. She glanced up at her husband. "How are we going to explain to her that her parents aren't coming back?" Carlisle grimaced and held the girl closer to him.

"I don't know love," he said. "We don't have to tell her now. Besides we don't even know how they died. We'll just have to make the change as easy as possible until she starts asking questions. And then we'll answer them to the best of our ability." Lexine slowly pulled her head back from where she was hiding and glanced shyly at all the others.

Her eyes settled on Jasper and they gazed at him in curiosity. He had been sending waves of calm toward her and it seemed that she understood it was him who was doing this. That confused Jasper but what shocked him was when she held out her arms toward him to be held. He took a step back and Carlisle raised an eyebrow at the girl and his son.

Lexine dropped her arms in confusion at him wondering why he hadn't picked her up when she first asked. No one had ever denied her before. Again she lifted her arms and gave a little grunt. He frowned but took a hesitant step forward not wanting to make her cry. Everyone watched him curiously wondering what he would do.

As soon as he was close enough he stopped in shock. He sniffed the air and looked confused. "Do you smell that?" he asked Carlisle.

"Yes," he said. "I found it quite confusing and thought it was just because I'm use to being around humans."

"Smell what?" Rose asked. Jasper turned slightly toward her but kept his eyes on the child.

"Her scent is enticing but I find myself not wanting to drink her blood." Then Jasper took another step toward the reaching child and took her into his arms. Even with his words everyone in the room tensed and waited to see what would happen. Rose had moved forward in reaching distance to snatch Lexine away if she had too.

Having got what she wanted Lexi snuggled closer to Jasper and gave a satisfied sigh. She liked being near the calming boy. Lexi gave a huge yawn and rubbed at her eyes tiredly. Today had been a long day for the young girl.

Esme stepped toward her to take her to her new bedroom but the little girl held tight to Jasper. "I'll take her to her room," Jasper said. He walked at a human speed so not to scare her up to her room. When he opened the door he was met with the sight of maroon and cream colored walls. Three walls were the cream color while the wall that the crib was set up against was the maroon red.

The crib was a black wood while the blanket was maroon but the pillow the same cream. There was a dresser made of the same wood as the crib and several toys and other various things scattered across the room. He strode across the room toward the crib and laid her down. She snuggled tiredly into the blanket and was asleep instantly.

Later that night the Cullen's were in various rooms all over the house doing what they normally did at night when a scream filled the air. At once the Cullen's were alert and racing toward Lexine's room where the screams were coming from. Lexi was sitting up in her bed staring at the door bawling her eyes out.

As soon as Jasper entered the room he could feel the fear rolling off over her. Edward froze at the images that he was getting from her mind. He quickly moved across the room and pulled Lexi into his arms. Everyone was shocked by his action because they had thought he didn't care for the girl.

"Oh you poor girl," he said softly. He turned toward his family who all looked worried. "She had a nightmare about her parent's death." Esme covered her mouth and would have cried if she could.

"That poor girl," she said. "She witnessed her own parents' death?" Edward glanced down at the whimpering girl before going on.

"A man just killed them," Edward said. "He just killed them without mercy. But I don't understand how he did it." At this his eyebrows rose in confusion. "There was a flash of bright green light and she was dead." Carlisle frowned and tried to think of what could do that but nothing came to mind.

"I have no clue what could cause that kind of death. Was there something else?" Edward glanced down back at the girl before answering.

"Yes," he said. "It was instant. I doubt there was any pain. One second she was alive and once the green light hit her she was dead. Whoever did this they knew he might come from the way they had been acting. They were afraid of him that much was clear but they were still defiant." By this point with the help of Jasper, Lexine had fallen back to sleep so Edward sat her back in her crib.

"I'll stay in here with her," Jasper said. "Make sure she has no more nightmares." One by one everyone slowly began to file out until only Jasper was left.

**Also guys I have put up a poll for you guys to vote on what animal she should get. Like I said I want her to be different but couldn't decide on which one I liked more. Hedwig is still an option though. **


	3. Through the years

The Winding Road

**Remember guys the poll is still open!**

**And I'm thinking about just breaking up this chapter into several points in her life to get to Hogwarts faster. **

Chapter Three

Six years later

Lexine laughed as she jumped trying to catch a butterfly. The seven year old held an aura of complete happiness and joy. Esme, who was the only one home at the moment, smiled serenely at the picture the little girl made. Lexi spun around at the sound of hissing. There not even a foot away was a snake.

Giggling the little girl stepped closer to peer down at it. _"Hello hatchling,"_ the snake hissed. The girl smiled brightly at the snake and crouched down.

"Hello Mr. Snake."

_"You ssshouldn't venture ssso clossse to the foressst hatchling. There are dangers in there."_ Lexine just smiled sweetly at the snake. There was something else she wanted to do and going into the forest wasn't it.

"Can I pick you up Mr. Snake?" The snake obliged and just as she had carefully picked him up Esme was outside and by her side.

"Lexine, no!" she said in worry that the snake would bite her. She quickly snatched the snake away from the girl and set it aside gently away from them. "Snakes are dangerous honey. You shouldn't touch them." Lexi frowned at the woman.

"Momma he's my friend," she argued. "He wouldn't hurt me." Her eyes watered once she realized that the snake had gone.

"Oh, dear come here little one," Esme said gently pulling her into a hug. "I just don't want you getting hurt. Promise me you won't play with animals that you don't know for sure about." Wiping at her tears Lexi slowly nodded not liking it one bit. It wasn't her fault that animals liked her. Though this was the first time that one had spoken to her. Was that normal?

"It spoke to me momma," Lexi sniffled. "He warned me about going into the forest alone because of the dangers." Esme frowned. She hadn't heard another voice just the hissing of the snake.

"He wasn't talking dear," she said softly. "You probably were just imagining it."

"But I wasn't!" She didn't understand why her mom didn't believe her. Surely she had heard it too.

"Go inside and play dear," Esme said. Huffing Lexi did as she was told. Before following her Esme glanced into the trees and saw the snake watching them before slithering off into the trees. Later that day Carlisle and Esme were in his study talking about what had happened later that day.

"She said she was talking to it Carlisle," Esme said. Carlisle laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Like you said maybe she was imagining it," he said calmly. "We've told her several times to not go near the forest without us. I'm sure she was just applying that to what she thought was the snake talking. All it is, is a little girls imagination." Esme sighed and nodded. Yes that's it. Nothing more but strange things always happened around the girl.

Just last year the young girl had thrown a temper tantrum and a glass broke next to her. Everyone had waved it off as a nothing and was done with it. But that hadn't been the only thing. Her hair grew faster than most and at times it seems she disappears without a trace only to show up a few seconds later laughing away.

They couldn't explain it and were worried that one day she could hurt herself from these strange occurrences. However they didn't have any way of figuring out what was going on and then keeping it from happening.

Remus paced back and forth in Dumbledore's office. It had been six years since James and Lily's daughter had disappeared. He was hoping that today Dumbledore would have good news for him but by the look of on his face it wasn't.

"I'm sorry Remus but we have yet to find the girl," Dumbledore said. "We know that she was dropped off at a hospital by the girl's aunt but there's no trace of the family that took her in. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until she gets her Hogwarts letter." Remus sighed and sat heavily into the nearest seat.

"What if she's in danger Albus?" Remus asked. "We wouldn't even know until it was far too late." Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat and stared at the tired looking man.

"I assure you Mr. Lupin that no danger will come to the girl. You'll see she'll arrive at Hogwarts alive and healthy." Remus's head snapped up to glare at the older wizard.

"And you know this for sure Dumbledore?"

"Ah, call it intuition Remus dear lad," he said. "Now how about a lemon drop?" Remus sent the older man a glare not believing that it was the right time for a lemon drop. Dumbledore noticed and gave him a small smile. "Now, now Remus there's no need to dwell on it. The girl will be fine. You'll see."

Two Years Later

A nine year old girl raced across the zoo parking lot toward the entrance in excitement. "Lexine dear!" Esme called out. "Don't wander from our sight!" Jasper sped up to catch the girl and spun her around.

She giggled as she hollered out, "Faster jaz, faster!" He chuckled and sat her down gently on the ground. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way toward the entrance. The rest of the family followed closely behind. They saw several animals but her favorites were the wolves, the vixens, and the snakes, which happened to be the last animal they went to go see.

She stared fascinated by the creatures. "Rose look!" Lexine said excitedly pointing toward one of the bigger snakes. She grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her along. "Isn't he beautiful?"

Rose stared at the snake in disdain. "Not exactly the words I would use." She patted the girl's hand before walking over to Emmett on the other side of the room. Lexine glanced over at them before turning back toward the aquarium. She leaned forward and touched the glass. The poor thing looked so bored.

Then she remembered what she had done a couple years back. "It must be lonely in there all by yourself," she whispered but the snake seemed to have heard her. He rose up and stared her in the eyes.

"_Hello little one," he hissed. "Yesss it doesss get quite lonely." _She gave him an sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I wish there was something I could do." She raised her hand to the glass and went to press on it but her hand didn't meet glass only air. She gasped and stepped back but the snake was already slithering forward. Hesitantly he peeked out before leaving the aquarium.

_"Thank you little one," he said in passing. _Emmett was the first to react when he realized that one of the snakes had escaped and was dangerously close to his little sister. He snatched her from her spot and swung her up into his arms out of reach from the snake. Lexine squirmed a little in his arms once again confused by why they reacted so negatively toward what she thought was nice enough snakes.

"Watch out little sis," Emmett said.

"How did it get out?" Carlisle asked coming up behind them.

"Where did the glass go?" Edward asked. And once again something unexplainable had happened around the little girl and they were left wondering what was different about her from all over the others.

One Year Later

Lexine never knew when weird things were going to happen even if strange stuff was always happening around her and she didn't know why. So when she met a stranger at one of the parks in London and he took a second glance at her it wasn't entirely strange.

Several strangers in weird robes had done that only to shake their heads and walk on only to disappear into what seemed thin air. So when this strange man did it she wasn't entirely surprised nor did she pay him really any mind knowing that soon he would leave like the rest. However this man was different. He didn't immediately walk away but stared at her in confusion and amazement.

That's when she gave him a second glance and noticed the ratty condition his clothes were in, his light brown hair was freckled with grey, and his sad green eyes held so much pain and loneliness that Lexine just wanted to hug him. So that's just what she did. Throwing caution to the wind she stood up from her spot on the swing set and wrapped her arms around his mid-section.

She couldn't believe someone this sad would hurt her and hoped her gut instinct was right. After a few seconds she pulled back and looked innocently up into his eyes. "I'm sorry you're sad." He stared down at her in surprise frozen by her sudden action.

He hadn't seen her scar, which was hidden behind her bangs, so he didn't know that this was Lexine Potter the same girl he had been looking for the last nine years. He didn't know how to answer that so he kept quiet. "I'll be… fine," he finally settled on. Surely one day the pain of his lost would lessen but until then he'd be exactly that: fine. Or at least pretend to be until he can trick himself into believing it himself.

Alice and Jasper finally realized that Lexine was no longer in their line of sight and instantly went to looking for her only to find her talking to a stranger. Jasper reached out to try to detect any sign of fear but only felt sadness from the man and sympathy from Lexine.

"Lex!" Alice called out. The young girl spun around to see her brother and sister speed walking up to them. She turned back around to look at the man again.

"I hope one day you find something that makes you happy," she said before giving him another innocent smile and spinning around to run toward Jasper and Alice. Remus glanced curiously at them before turning on his heel and leaving the park dwelling on the girls words as he apparated away.


	4. Past comes a knocking

The Winding Road

**The poll is officially over. I've decided that since a lot of you want Hedwig to stay that I'll keep her but I'll also be bringing in another animal. Since you can normally only have on animal at Hogwarts I've decided to make it her familiar so that they could bend the rules a little for her. **

**Instead of going with the next favorite (snake) I've decided to go with my personal favorite and make her familiar a fox. **

**Everything you recognize is not my own. J.K. Rowling is the master mind not me. I'm just using my creative license. **

**Here you guys go! A nice long one. **

Chapter Four

One Year Later

Lexine loved the summer. She loved the different colors that it brought and the warmth that always surrounded you so when she moved with her family to Alaska she was kind of disappointed. The warm air would no longer surround her and the only color she was likely to see was white. Though she was disappointed she didn't speak this out loud even if she suspected that Edward knew.

She didn't understand how he knew things that she had never even spoken of. Lexine had even noticed how your family never seemed to age either. She had asked one time but the only answer she had gotten was that one day they would tell her. 'When she was ready to know,' they always said. That frustrated her to no end but she accepted it.

They had been living in Alaska for a month when she had gotten the letter. It was like any other day. Lexi would sit at the dining table to wait for her breakfast. Another mysterious thing was that her family never seemed to eat but she was used to it and just assumed they ate when she wasn't around. However that day she had been asked to go fetch the mail and did it willingly.

When she saw her name on the odd envelope her heart raced in excitement. She had never gotten a letter before. There really wasn't a reason to. Her family lived with her and she never stayed in a place long enough to make proper friends that she wanted to keep in contact with. This was something her family worried about but she assured them that it didn't bother her and no one seemed friend material anyway.

Walking into the kitchen she sat the mail on the counter but kept the envelope with her name on it in green. Flipping it over she noticed that it didn't have a stamp but instead a purple wax sear bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

Curious she ripped into the envelope and was even more confused by what she read.

**Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Miss. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**Deputy Headmistress**

"Mum," Lexine called out. "Dad!" Carlisle and Esme raced into the kitchen with worried looks on their faces. She glanced up at their entrance and held up the envelope for them so see. "What's Hogwarts? And why do they think I can do magic? Magic isn't real is it?"

Neither Carlisle nor Esme knew what was going on even after they had read the letter. "We'll just ignore it," Carlisle said. "It's probably just a prank or something."

"I don't think so Carlisle," Esme said. "They used her actual last name. No one here knows her real surname." The rest of the day was spent with the adults worrying and the rest trying to distract Lexine from asking about the letter. The girl knew her actual name and had used it on several occasions throughout the years whenever they would move around. She didn't quite understand why they moved every year or so but didn't question it until now.

Now she wanted more than anything to question her family's motives. She had suspected for a long time that she was different. That much was obvious by all the strange things that happen around her that didn't happen to any of the other kids.

And for the first time she wanted nothing more than to question why her family hadn't aged in the last ten years. When she was younger she hadn't noticed anything strange but now that she knew people usually left high school after four years it defiantly was strange. She glanced up from the TV and looked at Emmett who was sitting besides her playing a game against Jasper.

"Em," she said. Emmett didn't look away from the TV but hummed in response telling her that he was listening. "Why don't you age?" Emmett froze along with Jasper who sat down his remote after pausing the game.

"I knew this day would come," sighed Emmett. "We were just hoping you would be older." Slowly the other family member entered the room and sat in various furniture around her and the two boys.

"Lexi we had hoped that you wouldn't start asking questions for a few more years because once you know the truth it could be very dangerous for you," Carlisle said.

"When we first brought you into our family we feared what would happen if anyone found out about you," Esme said. "You see we're not like everyone else. That's why we moved every few years instead of staying longer like we would have. If our kind found out that you were with us and if they find out that we are about to tell you our secret they could hurt you."

Lexine frowned as she glanced at her family watching them closely. "What are you then?"

"Vampires," Emmett said quickly. Rose hit his arm and glared at him.

"Emmett you idiot," she hissed. "We were going to break it to her gently." He shrugged.

"Might as well get it over quickly like pulling off a band aid." Lexi however was staring at them like they had lost their minds. Edward zoned in on this and sighed.

"Come on Lex," he said. "It makes since doesn't it. We don't age and when have you ever seen us eat?" It did make since she knew that but there was so much that didn't.

"You go out in the daylight," she pointed out. Emmett laughed a booming laugh.

"Of course you'd bring that up," he said. "We don't turn into dust but sparkle." Lex was astonished. Something so dangerous… sparkled. That could be the least dangerous thing she could think of.

"You… sparkle?" Carlisle nodded. "Ok. But don't you guys drink blood?" This was what they had been waiting for. For her to question their eating habits. Of course she probably thought that they fed on humans. "That's what you guys do when you leave to go on those long walks. But I haven't heard about any missing people." Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"That's because we don't feed on humans like most of our kind does," Carlisle said. "We like to think of ourselves as vegetarians. We only feed on animals." Lexi couldn't believe it. They were as far from the monsters that go bump in the night in story books. She still just couldn't believe it. Her family was vampires!

"Prove it," she said. They looked shocked by her question even Edward had since it was a last minute decision.

"What?" Carlisle asked.

"Prove it. I want to see the truth with my own eyes." Carlisle glanced at his family before standing up and in a blink of an eye he had disappeared only to reappear at her side. Lexine jumped at his sudden appearance. Carlisle went back to his seat but at a more human pace.

"Isn't it hard to constantly have me around?" she asked. Lexine had read several books and in every vampire book the vampires had a hard time being around humans because of their blood lust. Surely real vampires still had that.

"To us you smell appeasing but we don't have the urge to kill you," Jasper said. "We're not sure why but it's something we're grateful for."

"You mentioned that I'd be in danger if you told me this," she said. Esme shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't want her little girl to get hurt because of them and they had done the most dangerous thing they could have done.

"Yes, Lexine that's right," Carlisle said. "Our kind has to be kept a secret. The public mustn't know about the existence of vampires. To help keep this rule there's a group of Vampires that like to call themselves The Volturi. Their kind of like royalty for us. They keep us in check and make sure that we keep it a secret. If any humans were to find out about us it's an instant death sentence. You are either killed or turned into one of us."

It was clear that they all thought that it was a death sentence either way. "You mustn't tell anyone our secret Lexine," Esme said. "If it got out that you knew the truth than it would the first vampire that crossed paths with you job to kill you." Lexine nodded and promised to keep it a secret. They were her family and she would never betray them like that. After she had promised everyone left and went to go do their own thing.

It was like nothing had just happened. Lexine however just sat there and thought over what she had just learned. She trusted them to not eat her. After all they had nine years to do that and they hadn't yet. No what she was truly afraid of was the other vampires. The ones that weren't like the Cullen's. However she trusted her family to keep her safe so instead of dwelling on it she decided to leave and go find Emmett.

Albus Dumbledore stood up from his seat and strode over to the window. So far he had gotten everyone's reply for their Hogwarts letters except from one. Lexine Potter seemed to be the only one that hadn't replied back. He searched the horizon for the third owl he had sent but couldn't spot it in the falling sun.

He knew that when she disappeared there was a great possibility that a Muggle family had adopted her but he had hoped a wizard family had somehow found her and raised her. At least then she would be up to date on their life style and wouldn't have so much information thrown on her at one time. Especially not the deaths of her parents and why they had died.

He sighed. He might as well send Hagrid after her. Dumbledore trusted him enough to do it and Professor McGonagall was already making a visit to a Muggleborn named Hermione Granger. Yes that's what he would do. Hagrid had an air of trust around him and knew he would be the perfect man for the job.

Walking over toward his door he made his way through the castle and out onto the grounds toward Hagrid's hut. He knocked and waited for the half giant to open the door. "Ello Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid greeted with a smile.

"Yes, hello Hagrid," Dumbledore said. "I'm sorry to say I haven't come for pleasantries. I have a job I need you to do for me." Hagrid waited for Dumbledore to go on. "It's come to my attention that Lexine Potter hasn't replied back yet and I need you to go explain to her and her guardians about what is going on."

Hagrid nodded eager to see the little girl once again. He knew that several people would be happy to know that little Lexine Potter had been found at last. "Yes, sir," he said.

"Oh, and Hagrid I'd like it if you took him with you." Hagrid nodding knowing exactly who Dumbledore was talking about. Grabbing his pink umbrella he left.

The Cullen's had just got done feeding Lexine and they were about to settle down and watch a movie together when they heard the unfamiliar pop just outside their house. Jasper grabbed Lexine's hand and kept her protectively behind him. The others stood in front of them.

After a few moments they heard the crunch of shoes walking across the snow up to their front door. Bang! Bang! Bang! Whoever made the mysterious noise was knocking to come in. Hesitantly Carlisle strode forward and slowly opened the door making sure that his foot would keep the door from opening wider.

The sight he was met with weren't vampires. The bigger one smelt a lot like Lexine. Delicious but there was no need to attack. The skinnier and ruffled one had a mix of scents. It smelt like Lexine did but had an undertone of something woodsy and almost animal like. It wasn't unpleasant but did make him wrinkle his nose a little.

"Yes?" he asked. Hagrid took the lead and gave him a friendly smile.

"Dr. Cullen I presume," he said more like a statement instead of a question. Carlisle nodded hesitantly still not sure of these strangers. "We'd like to talk to you about Lexine Potter." Carlisle stiffened along with the rest of the family.

"What do you need with her?"

"If I might come in I can explain better," Hagrid said. Slowly and still unsure Carlisle moved back and let them in. They didn't seem to be dangerous and defiantly not something a house full of vampires should have a problem with. Carlisle led them into the living room and as soon as Lexi caught sight of the ruffled man she smiled a brilliant smile.

"I remember you!" she exclaimed. That's when Alice and Jasper recognized the man. He hadn't changed much in the last year. "I met you at the park!" Remus however was frozen. He couldn't believe the girl that he had met last year was the same girl he had been looking for. James and Lilies daughter.

A strangled noise came from his throat. This proved to be harder than he had first realized it would be. She looked so much like her parents that it hurt. The Cullen's glanced at him with worry hoping that he wouldn't faint on the spot.

Hagrid however either didn't notice his friend's predicament or was just ignoring it went on talking. He smiled at Lexine before speaking. "An' here's Lexine!" said the giant. Lexine stared up into the giants face and noticed that though he looked scary he seemed more of a teddy bear than anything. Much like Emmett. "Las' time I saw you, you were only a baby."

Lexine was surprised. This man knew her as a baby? "You know me?"

"Course I do," he said. "Was friends with your parents I was. Good people they were. The best." Lexi turned to Remus with a question gaze.

"Did you?" she asked. Slowly Remus nodded.

"Yes, I was one of your father's best friends," he said with a sad smile. "You look a lot like your mother with her eyes and features but with your father's hair." Lexine beamed at that. She loved the Cullen's dearly but she had always wondered about her actual parents.

"What were their names?" she asked suddenly wishing to know more. At first Remus was startled but then realized she wouldn't have a way to know about her parents. Nor would she remember what had happened to them.

"Lily Potter nee Evens was your mother," he said. "James Potter was your father." The Cullen's stared back and forth between the girl and man. They knew she wished to know more about where she came from and here was her chance. They wouldn't get in between that even if they were worried the man might try to take her away from them.

Hagrid however cut in having seen the still confused looks from the Cullen's. "Guess we should get onto why we're here." Carlisle nodded and led everyone to the dining room. "Didn't expect little Lexine to be living with vampires however." The Cullen's snapped their heads toward the giant and Remus.

Remus sat relaxed by Lexine and didn't show an ounce of unease. He knew that the Cullen's weren't a danger to Lexine. They didn't have blood red eyes and for one hadn't eaten her yet.

"How do you know that?" Carlisle asked.

"Easy of course," Hagrid said. "Wizards know about your lot. However only a select few know about wizards of course."

"Wizards?" Esme asked.

"Magical folk," Hagrid said. "Non Muggles." Lexine glanced up confused. She had never heard that term before.

"Muggles?" she asked speaking the question everyone else was wondering about. Remus turned slightly in his chair to look at her as he spoke.

"People who can't do magic," he explained. "It's what we call them." Lexine nodded and turned back to Hagrid so he could explain more.

"What is Hogwarts?" Carlisle asked. Hagrid smiled happy that they had gotten to that point.

"Yer got yer letter right?" he asked. Lexine nodded. "Then it's exactly what it said. It's a school to teach a young witch or wizard magic. Your name has been written down since the day you were born. It's the same school your parents went to." Lexine's eyes brightened at the idea that her parents had gone to the school.

"Who runs this school?" Esme asked.

"Professor Albus Dumbledore," Hagrid said. "The greatest wizard there is." By this point Lexine was excited about this place called Hogwarts. Magic was real and there was a place to learn it. She was a witch! This was amazing. At that point Remus decided to cut in. Now that all the good things had been put out there he decided that they should know the drawbacks of her being introduced to the wizarding world.

"There is however something you should know," Remus started capturing everyone's attention.

"Yes?" Esme said. Edward couldn't help but peak inside his mind and stiffened at what was being thought. Remus didn't know how he was going to say this without making them freak out.

"Everyone in our world knows Lexine," he said in a rush. Carlisle frowned.

"Why?" he asked. "What happened to cause this?" Remus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before answering. He looked kind of anxious at the thought of being the one to tell them this. Jasper tried to calm him down but it didn't seem to be working very well. Whatever had happened had really affected the man.

"I really hadn't wanted to be the one to tell you this," he said. "Actually I wished I didn't have to tell you this at all." He took a breath before continuing. "I can't tell you everything mind you. A lot of what happened that night is a mystery and the only one that can tell us is you Lexine." Everyone knew the unspoken words. Because she had been the only one that survived that night that much they knew at least. Remus seemed to be having trouble finding the words. Talking about that night was hard for him.

Hagrid noticing his friends dilemma decided to jump in. "It begins, I suppose, with- with a person called- but its incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-" Remus gave him a thankful look for taking over. Lexine, upon noticing his sadness had come back grabbed his hand and gave him a comforting smile.

"Who?" Rose asked worriedly.

"Well- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Lexine asked.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Lexine, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" Hagrid gulped but no sound came out.

At this part Remus decided to speak up. "Voldemort." The word came out more like venom than being afraid of it. But it made since to them. Because of that man Remus seemed to have lost everything in one night. Even Lexine when she went missing.

Hagrid nodded gulping again before speaking the name. "Yeah, Voldemort." He shuddered afterwards and everyone knew he was one of the ones that didn't like speaking the name. "Anyway, this- this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got' em, too- some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Lexine. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened."

As the Cullen's listened they began to get worried. If it wasn't for the fact that Edward had saw this man die in Lexine's dreams they probably wouldn't allow her to go to the school.

"He was takin' over. 'Course some stood up to him- an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who-"

"Voldemort," Remus interrupted pointedly at Hagrid. Hagrid however ignored him and went on.

"-was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew." Lexine perked up at the mention of her family like she seemed to be doing. Edward however was watching the memories play across both Hagrid and Remus's memories. He wished there was some way he could show them to Lexine but unfortunately he couldn't. Her parent seemed to be amazing people.

"Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppsed the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you were all living, on Halloween ten years ago." Throughout this part Remus seemed to be in pain.

"You were just a year old. He came ter yer house an'- an'-" Hagrid pulled out a dirty handkerchief and blew his nose. Remus seemed to have finally found his voice because he began to finish where Hagrid left off.

"Voldemort killed them," he said sadly with so much sorrow. Lexine glanced down at couldn't help the surge of her own sadness. "The real mystery of the thing- he tried to kill you, too. Wanted to make a clean job of it, we all thought or perhaps he just liked killing by then." Hagrid had recovered and once again took over the conversation.

"But he couldn't do it," Hagrid said. "Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead?" Lexine unconsciously touched the scar on her forehead. Finally she was going to find out how she had gotten it. "That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh- took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even- but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Lexine. No one ever lived after he decided to kill 'em, no one except you, an' he killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age- the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewitts- an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

Lexine had thought that her scar was cool. Someone odd and unique that no one else had but now she couldn't help but wish she no longer had it. Why would anyone want to be famous for their parents' death? To be famous for something you had no control over or didn't even remember. It was stupid in her opinion and only made her sad.

As she was listening to the ending of Hagrid's story however something painful flashed across her mind. For the first time she was able to remember the blinding flash of green light brighter and clearer than before, but she remembered something else, for the first time she could remember; a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Edward winced at her memory and looked over at the girl with symphony. He could already tell that if she did go to Hogwarts it wouldn't be easy.

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought you to yer relatives but they seemed to have taken you to a hospital and then well you know the rest." So many questions were running through her mind but only one came out clear.

"What happened to Vol-, sorry- I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Voldemort, Lexine," Remus corrected. She nodded at him and waited for an answer.

"Good question, Lexine," Hagrid said. "Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myste'ry, see… her was getting' more an' more powerful- why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours.

Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon the could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Lexine." Remus nodded seemingly agreeing with everything said so far. "There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on- _I _dunno what it was, no one does- but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

Everyone stopped to think about what had just been said. After a while Lexine turned to her family and looked each of them in the eyes. "Can I go to Hogwarts?" She wanted nothing more than to go there.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a quick glance. Sure their world sounded dangerous but the guy had been gone for years and couldn't think of a reason not to let her go.

"It'll be best that she does go," Remus said. "Her accidental magic would only get more powerful and she could possibly hurt someone around her or herself." They shared another exchange before finally nodding. Lexine jumped up and smiled in delight. She pulled them quickly in a hug and after a while was sent upstairs to go to sleep after Remus and Hagrid had left.

Though Remus promised to return tomorrow so he could take them all to Diagon Alley to get supplies. That night Lexine dreamed of all the things that she would encounter in the year to come.


	5. Diagon Alley

The Winding Road

Chapter Five

**Once again everything you recognize is not mine. I do not own Harry Potter the lovely J.K. Rowling does. However if I had a time turner there would defiantly be a possibility of me owning it. =D**

To say that Lexine and the Cullen's were confused was an understatement. Remus had led them to a whole different country to London, through a pub that the Cullen's couldn't even see until Remus had said something, and now they were behind the said pub standing in an alley in front of a brick wall.

Remus smiled at the looks he was getting and took out his wand, tapping it on the wall, and stepped back to watch the bricks move away to reveal a bustling street full of people wearing cloaks. Lexine's eyes widened as she stared at the people and shops around her.

The Cullen's noticed the familiar scents of everyone around them. It was exactly like Lexine's making them believe it had something to do with the magic that surrounded them. "First we'll go to Gringott's," Remus announced from the front of the group.

Lexi turned her attention from the broom she had been admiring to glance curiously up at him. "Gringotts?" she asked.

"It's a bank for wizards," he explained. "Your money will be kept there."

"My money?" Remus faltered mid step before turning back to her and the Cullen's.

"Your father was the heir of one of the oldest and richest family in the wizarding world. When he died that money was then passed down to his heir which would be you." He waved for them to follow him once again down the busy road.

Again Lexine found herself enchanted by the place. There were so many odd things that she couldn't see ever being anywhere but at a place like this. Oddly enough they seemed like they belonged there and wouldn't fit in the Muggle world. They stopped in front of a snowy white building that towered over the other smaller shops. Besides the building the first thing she noticed was the creature that stood in front of the building.

"A goblin," Remus explained to her. "Come on." Carlisle patted her arm and nudged her forward. They walked through a pair of doors that had golden writing on them. She paused to admire the beautifully written but threatening words.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn. _

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Turning her attention back to Remus she chased after him. He was already done talking to the goblin by the time she had made it to them. Remus turned toward them and spoke directly to the Cullen's. "One of you can come with us down to the vault," he said. "There won't be enough room for all of us." Silently Jasper was elected.

They figured he would be able to calm her down if something were to happen or protect her if the need arose. The three of them followed the Goblin and squeezed into the cart. To Lexi it felt like a rollercoaster Emmett had taken her on one time.

To say that she loved it was an understatement. As they flew around one of the corners she swore she saw fire and glanced over the side to try to get a better look before it disappeared. Unfortunately for her Jasper reached out and tugged her back into her seat. He had felt her curiosity and knew that she didn't think of her safety when curious.

There was no telling how many times she had gotten in trouble in the past because her curiosity got the better of her. When they arrived Remus helped her out of the cart and waited for the Goblin to open the vault.

Lexine's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of all the money her parent's had left her. She knew the Cullen's were rich but it would seem that Lexi had even more money than them. "Well go on," Remus said giving her another sad smile. It seemed he did that a lot. She grabbed the small sack from him and filled it with the gold, silver, and bronze Knuts.

Once back up top Remus then led them to start getting her things. Finally there were only two things left. "All we have left to get is your wand and a pet," Remus said smiling at her. The excitement in her bubbled over at the mention of her wand. This is what she had been waiting for all day. The Cullen's smiled when she started bouncing up and down in excitement.

"In my opinion this is probably everyone's favorite part," Remus said in amusement at her actions. He still couldn't believe he had found her at last. He didn't know how to even start thanking the Cullen's for raising her. At least she was happy and he had a feeling if her relatives had raised her she wouldn't even be that.

The small building was packed as soon as they all had squeezed themselves into it. At once Lexine could feel the magic that filled the place. It seemed to sing to her. She felt his presence before she saw Ollivander. His piercing gaze seemed to look right through her and into her soul. She couldn't help but fidget under his gaze. Remus gave her an understanding look. He knew how that felt and it wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Ah yes," said the man she suspected to be Ollivander. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Lexine Potter." It was clearly not a question so Lexi kept quiet. The strange man had her full attention. "You have your mother's eyes." She smiled at this. Loving already the fact that she had been told this twice.

"It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for Charm work."

"It was your mother's best class," Remus whispered quietly almost like he wasn't really in the present with them but in the past. At this point Mr. Ollivander had moved closer to Lexi and she wished he would just blink. Those silvery eyes were beginning to give her the creeps. The Cullen's stiffened but didn't make a move to get him away from her. It was clear that Remus trusted him so at the moment so would they.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." At this point they were so close that their noses almost touched and Lexi could see herself in his misty eyes.

His eyes seemed to be burning a hole into her scar. "And that's where…" He reached out confidently and touched the lightning scar on her forehead, with one white finger. The Cullen's followed his every movement making sure he wouldn't try anything.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half-inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" He shook his head and to her relief backed off. It was beginning to get a little to intense for her liking.

Fortunately for her he had spotted Remus and the Cullen's. "Remus!" he said with genuine happiness. "Remus Lupin! How nice to see you again… Cypress, ten and a quarter inches, unicorn hair, and pliable wasn't it?"

"It was," Remus said with a small smile. It was then that Ollivander spotted the Cullen's. His eyes widened slightly when what they were became noticeable. Lexi noticed the calculating look that shown brightly in his eyes as he studied them. She couldn't tell if they were as uncomfortable under his gaze as she had been.

They looked completely calm but that was normal for them. Lexi always had such a hard time reading them unlike everyone else who were like open books to her. "Vampires," he said in interest. "I've only ever met one other but it would seem you were not like him." He motioned toward their golden eyes that were so far from the normal crimson that it was a dead giveaway that they were different.

"We live among humans peacefully," Carlisle said like he got asked this every day. That wouldn't surprise Lexi if they did get asked that a lot. Ollivander nodded with a thoughtful look on his face.

"How do you manage that kind of lifestyle?" he asked curiously.

"We feed only on animals." That seemed to pike the old man's interest even more but instead of asking more he turned back to Lexine. After all he had a job to do and he could already tell Lexine Potter was going to be a tricky match.

"Well, now- Miss. Potter," he began. His piercing gaze fell back on her. "Let me see." She watched as he pulled out a long tape measure with silver marking out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"The hand that you normally use," Remus clarified. Lexine sent him a thankful look and held up her left arm.

"I'm left handed," she said softly. He motioned for her to hold out her arm and she did as told. He measured from her shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around her head.

As he did this he spoke to her. To her it seemed more out of habit than anything. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, Phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstring of dragons." Lexine stared at him mystified. She couldn't believe they actually existed!

"No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or Phoenix's are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Lexine's gaze stayed on Ollivander but she was quite aware of the fact that the tape measure was now working by itself. It was still strange to her but the fact that she was buying a wand in itself was strange.

Ollivander began flitting around the shelves pulling down boxes as he went. Having finally found a box he pulled it from the shelf. "That will do," he said and the tape measure fell to the floor in a heap. "Right then, Miss. Potter. Try this one. Beachwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Slowly Lexine took it from his grasp and stared down at the piece of wood before waving it. Honestly she felt silly but wasn't going to question it. She hadn't even finished waving it around before he had snatched it back out of her hand.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-" She tried once again to wave it around but had hardly even raised it when that wand to was snatched from her hands while Ollivander mumbled "No, no."

"Here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Lexine took it from his hands and giving him a calculating look she once again went to wave it. Wand after wand was shot down by Ollivander and Lexine was beginning to doubt she was magical after all.

She didn't even know what the older man was looking for as the pile of wands began to grow. She gave him an odd look when he began to get happier and happier as the amount of wands grew. He was a strange one indeed.

"Tricky costumer eh?" he said excitedly. "Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere- I wonder, now- yes, why not- unusual combination- holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." As Lexine took the wand all she could think of was she hoped this one was it.

As soon as her fingers curled around the cool wood sudden warmth sparked in her fingers. This time when she raised the wand and swished it through the air a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Behind her she could hear the excited claps from her family and Remus. Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious." He grabbed her wand putting it back in its box and wrapped it in green paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"

Lexine's own curiosity was getting the best of her. She wanted to know why he was muttering that. What was so fascinating about the wand that had chosen her? "What is curious, sir?" she asked politely but all the while hoping he would hurry and answer her. Once again Ollivander fixed her with his pale stare and she wished he wouldn't do that. It unnerved her.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss. Potter," he began. Lexine however already knew this and wished he was get on with it. "Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- why, its brother gave you that scar." Lexine gulped not sure if she had heard him right.

At the front of the store her family gazed worriedly at the wand wondering what this meant for Lexine. Remus had stiffened and was on the same thinking path as the Cullen's.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Miss. Potter… after all, He-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things- terrible, yes, but great."

If it wasn't for the fact that both Edward and Jasper could tell that he was only admiring the magic and not the deed they would have taken Lexine and gotten her out of there right then and there. Lexine shivered.

She didn't know if she liked the idea of people expecting great things from her. That was a lot of pressure especially for someone her age who just wanted to fit in. She didn't need any more stress and not wanting to fail people was a lot of stress.

Quickly Lexi paid seven gold Galleons for her wand and hastily made for the exit. She wasn't sure if she liked Ollivander much after that encounter. Remus was the first to follow her out of the shop and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry about him Lexine," he said. "He makes everyone feel that way. All we have left is to get you a pet."

He led them down the cobble stone street and toward a building that was named Magical Menagerie. As soon as they entered the building Lexine's sight was filled with every animal imaginable. Her eyes roamed over the shelves but nothing caught her eye. Surely there was something here she would want. They had everything from dancing mice to snakes.

As she was looking she hadn't even noticed that Remus had slipped out. Slowly Lexi was beginning to give up. Nothing appealed to her and she was beginning to think this was going to be another wand hunt. Apparently nothing was coming easy to her today.

Moving farther back she came to the more unusual animals. These were the kind of animals you would see in the wild than in captivity. She expected them to be pawing at their cages but instead they were just sitting there. They seemed calm and quite happy to be where they were at.

She frowned as she gazed at the snakes before moving on to the next animal. It was then that she noticed the fox in the far corner. She moved closer and the fox glanced up at her. She could have sworn something like familiarity passed through its gaze. She watched as he slowly stood up and gazed at her like he was saying 'well what are you waiting for? Take me home already.'

He was beautiful. His fur was the color of pepper. The grey, black, and white seemed to have been sprinkled into his fur to give him the unique coloring. His face however had that reddish color with the pepper sprinkled into it. His golden eyes were locked onto her and Lexi knew he was the one.

There was this feeling pulling her toward him. Without even stopping to think she unlatched the cage and pulled him out. Instantly he burrowed himself into her arms and gave a small high pitched yip. It was sort of like the sound a dog would make but a much higher sound. Still holding him he brought him up to the front where Carlisle and Esme were watching a couple of mice dance.

"I found the one I want!" she exclaimed excitedly. They turned to look at her and their gazes fell on the fox.

"He's adorable!" Alice cooed coming from out of nowhere. "What are you going to name him?" Lexi glanced down at him and took a few minutes to think about it.

"Bo," she finally decided. Bo yipped and she took that as his way of saying he liked it too.

"Will Hogwarts allow you to bring him?" Esme asked looking sad by the fact that Lexi may not be able to bring Bo with her. "It did say you can have an owl, cat, or toad." It was then that Remus appeared out of nowhere. He was holding a cage that held a snow white owl.

"If he's her familiar then he will be accepted," Remus said. "That also means Lexine will be able to have more than one animal. I find that owls are handy to have." He motioned toward the owl he had and Lexine's eyes lit up.

"You didn't have too," she said feeling bad that he had spent money on her. Remus however waved off her concern.

"I seem to remember you having a birthday recently. Considering I haven't been able to send you birthday presents I was hoping this would make up for the lost years." Lexi smiled hugely at him.

"She's beautiful, Remus," she said. "Thank you!" Carlisle paid for Bo and she was swept from the store. As she was cooing over her new pets they ran into Hagrid who was leaving Gringotts.

"Hagrid," Remus greeted seemingly surprised to see him here. "What are you doing here?" Hagrid held up what seemed to be a normal paper bag.

"I'm here on orders from Dumbledore." Hagrid stated and the subject seemed to have been dropped after that. It was like an unspoken rule that nothing else would be asked. The curiosity was killing Lexine but she managed to keep her mouth closed. "See you at Hogwarts Lexine." She smiled and waved at him while holding Bo close to her.

Curious indeed. In that moment she vowed to figure out what was in the sack.

**I'm so sorry its taken me forever to update. I lost my muse for the story for a while but its back so hopefully I'll be able to start updating regularly again. **

**However I'll warn you it might only be once a week. Between my schooling and my job I don't have a lot of time to write anymore but I'll try to write as much as I can on the weekends. **


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